Dionisio Alcalá Galiano
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano | |
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Cartographer |
Dionisio Alcalá Galiano (8 October 1760 – 21 October 1805) was a Spanish naval officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronometers. He commanded an expedition that explored and mapped the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia, and made the first European circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. He reached the rank of brigadier and died during the Battle of Trafalgar.
He sometimes signed his full surname, Alcalá-Galiano, but often used just Galiano. The published journal of his 1792 voyage uses just the name Galiano, and this has become the name by which he is most known.[1]
Early life
Galiano was born in
He participated in several hydrographic surveys and became skilled in cartography. As a junior officer he spent time in the River Plate region and the Falkland Islands. He returned to Spain in 1783.
In 1784 Galiano met and worked with Alejandro Malaspina, with whom he would later journey to America. Both men were among a group of officers studying astronomy at the Royal Observatory in Cádiz under Admiral Vicente Tofiño.[2] The association was brief, as Tofiño was called upon to create an atlas of the coast of Spain, and he chose Galiano to work on the project. Thus Galiano assisted Tofiño's great hydrographic study, which resulted in the Atlas Maritímo de España, published in 1789. This experience was the basis of Galiano's expertise as a professional cartographer.[3]
In 1785 Galiano married María de la Consolación Villavicencio. Soon after the marriage he left on a survey of the Strait of Magellan under another influential teacher, Antonio de Córdoba.[4]
In 1788 he was given charge of a mission to fix the location of the Azores, during which he was in command of the brig Natalia. In the same year he assisted in the final stages of Tofiño's mapping project.[3]
Malaspina expedition
In 1789 Galiano was selected as the hydrographer for Malaspina's ambitious scientific and political voyage. Aboard the expedition's second ship,
The expedition arrived in
Thus Galiano remained in Mexico, compiling the expedition's hydrographic and astronomical data, and making maps. He also investigated the colonial archives and collected information useful in assessing the state of the colony. This was one of the political tasks of the Malaspina expedition, for which Malaspina and his officers had royal authority above that of the viceroy, authorizing access to any and all documents they might think relevant. He spent about a year at this task, while the Malaspina expedition sailed to Alaska and Vancouver Island.
1792 voyage of the Sutil and Mexicana
Malaspina's voyage to Alaska was for the purpose of determining whether a rumored
The expedition left Acapulco on 8 March 1792. Galiano commanded the Sutil, and the expedition overall, while Valdés commanded the Mexicana. These ships were "goletas", a Spanish term often translated as "schooner". However goletas were not necessarily rigged as schooners. The Sutil was rigged as a brig and the Mexicana began rigged as a topsail schooner but was changed during the voyage to a brig.[8]
Nootka Sound
On 13 May they arrived at the Spanish post at Nootka Sound, then under the command of
On 3 June a group of Nuu-chah-nulth asked Quadra for help against a ship that had attacked a village in Esperanza Inlet. They said that seven of their people had been killed, many wounded, and all their sea otter furs seized. Quadra had his surgeon tend some of the wounded and promised to punish the aggressors. Galiano was under the impression that the ship was the Columbia Rediviva under Robert Gray, but the attack was actually done by the English fur trader William Brown.[9] Brown was the commander of three trading vessels, the Butterworth, Jackal, and Prince Lee Boo, collectively known as the Butterworth Squadron. He had a grant from the British government to set up a fur trading post on the coast of Vancouver Island. It was expected that Spain would turn over the post at Nootka Sound to the British later in the year, but due to Quadra's firm stand the transfer did not happen. Brown may have been planning to take over the post, but instead did not establish any post. Later in the year Brown had a violent conflict with the indigenous people of Clayoqout Sound as well. He claimed he acted in self-defense, while other fur traders said he forcefully stole furs from the Clayoquot people.[10]
On 18 and 28 May the Spanish made an observation of the moons of Jupiter, allowing them to finely calibrate their chronometers. Two other chances to make the observation failed due to cloudy skies.[9]
Strait of Juan de Fuca
Galiano and Valdés left Nootka Sound very early on 5 June and entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, reaching at today's
Having with them maps and information about the Strait of Juan de Fuca obtained by Quimper in 1790 and Eliza in 1791, Galiano intended to sail quickly to Bellingham Bay and then north into the Strait of Georgia. In accordance with his orders, Galiano was most interested in unexplored waters that extended east into the continent. For that reason he opted not to explore the south-tending Boca de Caamaño (Admiralty Inlet), which would have led him into Puget Sound. In any case, George Vancouver had just finished his exploration of Puget Sound when Galiano and Valdés were sailing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.[11]
The Sutil and Mexicana left Neah Bay on 8 June, crossing to the north side of the Strait and cruising along the coast of Vancouver Island. They sailed through the night, reaching
The Spanish anchored in Esquimalt Harbour around noon on 9 June. Soon two of his wives arrived by canoe. They had followed from Neah Bay by canoe, not wanting to sail on the Spanish ships. In the evening the Spanish officers went to the villages on shore.
The Spanish ships left Esquimalt very early on 10 June. They made for Smith Island (Isla de Bonilla) and, after sighting it, turned to the north, making for Lopez Island. They anchored near Point Colville at the southern end of Lopez Island. A party was sent ashore to make an observation of the first moon of Jupiter, by which they were able to improve their longitude measurements. The next day they sailed northeast through part of Rosario Strait and through Guemes Channel into Padilla Bay, noting a village on the shore of Guemes Island. That evening they anchored in Bellingham Bay (Seno de Gaston).[11]
Meeting the Vancouver Expedition
On 13 June, near Point Roberts, they encountered HMS Chatham, under William Robert Broughton, second in command of the British expedition of George Vancouver. They met Vancouver himself on 21 June, near present-day Vancouver, British Columbia. Galiano and Vancouver established a friendly relationship and agreed to assist one another by dividing up the surveying work and sharing charts. They worked together in this way until 13 July, after which each resumed circumnavigating Vancouver Island separately. Galiano's ships sailed north around the island, through Cordero Channel and Goletas Channel, proving that it was in fact an island. They reached Nootka Sound, completing the circuit, on 31 August. Vancouver's ships had arrived earlier.[14]
Since Galiano had set out from Nootka while Vancouver had entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca directly from the south, Galiano and his crew became the first Europeans to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. They were also the first Europeans to discover and enter the Fraser River, on 14 June 1792.[15]
Galiano had received letters of suggestion and order from both Malaspina and Viceroy Revillagigedo. Malaspina urged a stop at
Galiano returned to Mexico in late 1792 and began to write an account of his explorations, which was published in 1802, unusual in that Spain typically kept its exploration results secret.[17] Galiano would likely have remained obscure if not for his exploration of the Strait of Georgia and Vancouver Island.[14]
In 1795 Malaspina was imprisoned for plotting against the state. Spain had planned to publish a grand report and atlas about his expedition, but after his political downfall this became impossible. After reports of the voyages of
Later career
After Galiano's return to Spain in 1794, he was made a member of the Order of Alcántara, by royal decree dated December 5, 1795.
Alessandro Malaspina returned to Spain in August 1794. Galiano joined him in presenting the Malaspina expedition's report to the Commander in Madrid. Along with two other officers they stayed in the capital to prepare a planned publication compiled from the vast quantity of reports, observations, charts, drawings, and other data collected during Malaspina's five-year voyage. This massive undertaking, which was to include a grand narrative and an atlas, was intended to rival the publication of the expeditions of James Cook. Galiano's 1792 exploration of the Strait of Georgia was to be an important complement to the accounts of Malaspina's visits to Alaska and Nootka. However, Malaspina tried to influence Spanish politics regarding the American colonies with disastrous consequences. He was arrested in late 1795 and imprisoned from 1796 to 1802, after which he was exiled from Spain. Nearly all documents from his expedition were seized and publication forbidden. As a result, Galiano's account of his exploration, published in 1802, became the only Spanish publication about Spanish activities in the Pacific Northwest for many years, and Galiano's name became synonymous with Spanish exploration of the region.[3]
After this, Galiano returned to cartography and then active duty as war broke out with Britain. Careful to distance himself from Malaspina, Galiano remained untainted by the political disaster. In 1797 he was in command of the frigate Vencedor during the
In 1798 Galiano went with a group of ships to America to bring treasure to Spain, much needed for war funding. He slipped through the British blockade of Cádiz at night during a storm, then sailed to the Caribbean, picking up silver and other valuables at Cartagena and Veracruz. Returning, he had to evade enemy ships several times, but reached Cádiz safely. He made a second treasure voyage to New Spain and commanded a small squadron on the return voyage. British ships and bad weather drove him into Havana, where he was when the Treaty of Amiens ended the war in 1802.[18]
In December 1804 war broke out again between Spain and Britain. Galiano, now a brigadier, was given command of the 76-gun ship Bahama. He fought in the Battle of Trafalgar, where he was killed by a cannonball on 21 October 1805.[14] His body was buried at sea from his half wrecked ship.[19]
Legacy
Galiano Island, an island on the Strait of Georgia, is named for Alcalá Galiano, as are Alcala Point and Dionisio Point on the islands' northern end.[20][21] The island's highest point of land, 341m, is Mt Galiano, now the site of the Mt Galiano Nature Protection Area managed by the Galiano Club (founded in 1924). The main hiking trail here, opened in 1992 on the 200th anniversary of the historic meeting, is named for Dionisio Galiano. Salamanca Point, on the east side of Galiano Island, is named for Secundino Salamanca, one of Galiano's officers. An unusual cliff formation on Gabriola Island is named Galiano Gallery.[22] The Canadian warship HMCS Galiano was likewise named for him. The ship alternated duties with a similar vessel, HMCS Malaspina, named for Galiano's commander and associate. Sutil Channel is named for Galiano's vessel, the Sutil, as is Cape Sutil at the northern end of Vancouver Island and Mount Sutil, the second highest point of land on Galiano Island.
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Jaime Alcalá Galiano, direct descendant of Dionisio Alcalá Galiano, at the Galiano Is. memorial stone now located at the Galiano Museum site.
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Almudena Alcalá-Galiano with local historian, Andrew Loveridge, at the Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano memorial.
See also
References
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ISBN 0-7735-2652-8.; online at Google Books
- ^ a b c d e Dionisio Alcalá Galiano: The Canadian Adventure of a Spanish Naval Hero, Malaspina University-College
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ISBN 0-7735-2652-8.
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ISBN 0-7735-2652-8.
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ISBN 0-88894-279-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-7748-0741-5. online at Google Books
- ^ SUPPLEMENT TO THE 2003 BOOK: “SONGHEES PICTORIAL. A History of the Songhees People as Seen by Outsiders 1790-1912”[permanent dead link], by Grant Keddie. Published by the Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria B.C.
- ^ a b c d Archer, Christon I. (1983). "Alcalá Galiano, Dionisio". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ISBN 1-57061-215-3.
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ^ Alcalá-Galiano (1792), Passages: A Treasure Trove of North American Exploration
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ISBN 0-87062-203-X.
- ^ "Alcala Point". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Dionisio Point". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Galiano Gallery". BC Geographical Names.
Further reading
- Kendrick, J. and R. Inglis, Enlightened Voyages. Malaspina and Galiano on the Northwest Coast, 1791-1792. Vancouver, Vancouver Maritime Museum Society, 1991, 82 pp.
- Cutter, D.C., Malaspina and Galiano. Spanish Voyages to the Northwest Coast, 1791 & 1792. Vancouver-Toronto, Douglas & Mclntyre, 1991, 160 pp.
- (in Spanish) Cervera y Jácome, Juan. El Panteón de Marinos Ilustres. Ministerio de Marina. Madrid. 1926.
External links
- (in Spanish) Historia Naval de España
- Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano Association (in Spanish)